Thursday, 20 March 2014

Stress Week

Well, it’s safe to say that this last week has been one of
the most stressful weeks of my life. I came back from a great trip to Holland
to tons of commitments and things to do. Last Wednesday I started my 3000-word
essay, managed to have a solid draft done by Friday, and submitted it
yesterday. They are so high-maintenance about essays here, besides submitting a
version online, you have to turn in two paper copies to a special drop box,
both with a coversheet that has the exact word count and all sorts of
information on it. Too much work.

This last Friday we finally found out our exam dates for the
spring, which has been stressing me out like crazy. Since I found out I was
accepted into Luther’s Nottingham program, my plan has always been to go to
Russia for the last two weeks after my spring exams, before I go back to
Minneapolis for the summer. Exams start on May 19 and go until June 6. This
semester, I’ll be writing an additional 4000-word essay instead of sitting the
exam for my history class, which is nice not to have to worry about that quite
yet. Unfortunately, I have my Polish exam on June 5, which sincerely fucked up
my plans.

After finding out that there is no possible way for me to
take my Polish exam early, on Tuesday I finally got my shit together and bought
all my plane tickets. I’ll be heading back to the 612 come June 22, a grave
error since I just realized today that, since June 22 is a Sunday, liquor
stores will be closed in MN!!! This is a terrible travesty, since my first stop
home from the airport was going to be East Lake Liquor, so I could buy my first
ever legal 6-pack of Nordeast. I’ll probably be too jetlagged to drive to
Hudson and buy some booze on my first 21+ day in the US, so my first ever legal
alcohol purchase will have to wait until Monday morning. Life’s not fair. I’ll
be coming back so late in the summer, but there’s really not much I can do
about it. In some ways I think it’ll be good, since I’ll be able to really
enjoy the last of my time here in England.

Besides my plane ticket home, I also finally bought my
tickets to Russia. I’ll be flying to Moscow on June 7, and then flying back to London
from St. Petersburg on June 20. This will be the most nerve-wracking but
exciting solo trip of my life!!! There are a lot of things that are out of my
control, particularly everything that has been happening in Ukraine/the Crimea.
Things like that are so unpredictable, it’s really impossible to tell what the
situation will be like by the time I’m going to Russia. I’ve accepted that by
the time I’m leaving, it might be seriously unsafe for me to go, or I might not
be allowed to travel there. These are both possibilities that I have
considered, and if I blow money on a trip that might not happen, that’s a risk
I’m willing to take. Russia is it for me: it’s the dream. Russia is my dream. I
can’t really even imagine what it will like when I’m finally there, hanging out
in the Kremlin and walking down the staircase in the Hermitage. It’s the dream.

I’ve had a lot of people either tell me not to
go/essentially try to scare me out of traveling to Russia by myself as a woman.
But I refuse to let “being a woman” stop me from following my dream. Not to
turn this trip into a battle of Maja vs. The Patriarchy, but there are women in
Russia who walk around by themselves every day. There are probably even women
in Russia who aren’t Russian who walk around by themselves every day! I have
gained indispensable experience as an independent female traveler this year,
and my trip to Russia will just require more caution than my other solo trips.
If I didn’t think I could do it, I really wouldn’t be going.

Okay, I’m pretty much done justifying why I should be
allowed to go for my dreams. All this being said, I really appreciate love and
support as I get ready for this trip and as I follow my dream! Since I have to
have a visa to go to Russia (and have to be invited to apply for the visa),
this trip is already more stressful than most. I’m kind of under a time limit,
since I have to have it all figured out and have my passport back by the time I
leave for my month of traveling over spring break, which is April 11. Hopefully
the process will go smoothly and I can get my visa/passport without any major
problems! Prayers and good thoughts for a peaceful solution with the situation
in Ukraine/the Crimea wouldn’t hurt either. There are so many things in the
world we can’t control, but positive energy is always possible.

Now that I’ve finally had a few days in Notts, I’ve been
able to catch up on homework and start seriously planning out my spring break.
Tomorrow we leave on a flat trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, which I think will be really
fun. Then I have one more week until my best friend comes to visit me! And then
once he leaves, only a few more days before my next month of travel! I can’t
believe how fast the time has gone. Just a few more months until I’m back home
in the 612!